War Front's evolution, Godolphin success and more: five things we learned

War Front enters a new phase of his career

Last week's action on the track emphasised how War Front's stallion career, and perhaps breeders' perception of him, has evolved.

As has been highlighted on these pages before, the Claiborne Farm kingpin had faced something of a public relations crisis in Europe due to an unfortunate accumulation of top-class two-year-olds who, for one reason or another, had failed to replicate their form at three or older: see Air Force Blue, Brave Anna, Faydhan and War Command.

There must have been some sleepness nights among the Coolmore directorate, wondering if they had made the correct decision to target the son of Danzig as a worthy outcross for their many high-class and well-related mares by Sadler's Wells and sons Galileo and Montjeu in pursuit of breeding Group 1 winners and, crucially for the operation, making commercial stallion prospects.

But their faith in War Front appears to have been vindicated.

Last year's European champion two-year-old US Navy Flag notched a first Group 1 in his three-year-old campaign for Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore with a clear-cut victory in the July Cup, having tried to make the running and faded over a mile in top-flight company on his last three starts. Another son of War Front, last year's Middle Park Stakes second Fleet Review, followed US Navy Flag home in third.

Earlier at the July Festival, another War Front three-year-old in Naval Intelligence – a rare good one that Coolmore appear to have let slip through their fingers, having bred him but sold him to race for Jane Chapple-Hyam – was a surprise yet impressive winner of the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes.

US Navy Flag, Fleet Review and Naval Intelligence are all out of Galileo mares in Classic heroine Misty For Me, Rip Van Winkle's sister A Star Is Born and Group 3 scorer Say respectively. The mating of War Front with Misty For Me also came up with Roly Poly, who last year became the first Group 1 winner for her sire at three or older in Europe since Declaration Of War in 2013.

It is tempting to believe that the War Front-Galileo cross is the perfect recipe, marrying the best of current American and European bloodlines.

Similarly, Coolmore's Tattersalls Gold Cup winner this year – Lancaster Bomber, another who took his rivals off their feet with a bold front-running performance – is by War Front out of Sun Shower, a daughter of Indian Ridge who had already produced ace miler Excelebration. Again, refining the raw talent provided by the sire with a proven European Group 1 pedigree.

Coolmore's announcement in the immediate aftermath of the July Cup that US Navy Flag would be prepared for the lucrative Everest at Randwick in Australia in October is a laudable sporting decision and one that makes good business sense as the organisation will want to showcase War Front to Australian breeders for the sake of the important shuttle sire market, knowing there are likely many more Group 1 winners like US Navy Flag in the pipeline.

As for War Front's credentials as a sire of sires, his Coolmore-owned freshman and second-season sire sons War Command and Declaration Of War registered new winners in the past seven days.

War Command supplied three-and-a-half-length Wolverhampton winner Theatre Of War and impressive Ascot debut scorer Nuremberg, while Declaration Of War's daughter Tobruk also won on the Wolverhampton all-weather.

Godolphin breeding blossoms

Masar's season-ending leg injury is a bitter blow for Godolphin, especially as he was such a fine flagbearer for Sheikh Mohammed's team: a homebred Derby winner by a Darley stallion out of a UAE Oaks and Derby heroine, and trained by Charlie Appleby.

But there are plenty more high-class talents who prove that the various parts of the Godolphin breeding and racing system can function in harmony.

Exciting Superlative Stakes winner Quorto is a Godolphin-bred son of Darley's marquee sire Dubawi, trained by Appleby; so is Al Hilalee, who stormed to victory on debut in a 7f maiden at Newmarket the day before.

Dubawi is shown off to guests at the Darley Stallion Parade this weekCredit: Edward Whitaker

Lover's Knot, Appleby's two-year-old filly who scored in a Newmarket 6f maiden on Thursday, is by Irish National Stud sire Invincible Spirit, in whom Sheikh Mohammed owns a significant share, out of the Dubawi mare Patroness who is emerging as one of Godolphin's best young broodmares having produced Blair House and Key Victory as her first two foals.

To put the icing on an excellent week, Godolphin homebreds took both Group races at Maisons-Laffitte on Sunday – Gyllen, a Medaglia D'Oro half-brother to Grade 3 winner Stormalory in the Prix Eugene Adam, and Inns Of Court, an Invincible Spirit colt out of the Seeking The Gold mare Learned Friend, in the Prix de Ris-Orangis.

It is hard to know what all the success means to the coming yearling sales season. On the one hand you might construe that the sheikh's enthusiasm for finding top-class horses to race for Godolphin will be reinvigorated. On the other, you would have to wonder whether it means the need to go to market has been negated somewhat.

Pivotal and Galileo in broodmare battle

Broodmare sire tables are so often the preserve of the perished or the pensioned; older names who have more crops of daughters to have been represented by runners on the track.

So it is testament to the brilliance and durability of the two horses who are still covering mares fighting it out to be named the champion by earnings in Europe this year.

Pivotal leads the way with around £3.5 million in prize-money, just ahead of Galileo on £3.2m. Both recorded multiple winners in this department last week.

Pivotal: leading the broodmare sire table for 2018Credit: Edward Whitaker

Pivotal's daughters produced July Stakes hero Advertise, a second stakes winner from the first more expensively bred crop by Showcasing after Soldier's Call; Summer Stakes winner Raven's Lady, by Raven's Pass; and Prix Roland de Chambure scorer Harmless, a first stakes winner from the debut crop sired by Goldikova's top-class brother Anodin.

Harmless carries the silks of the Wertheimer brothers and was just a €35,000 Arqana V2 Sale purchase by the elite owners, which seems incongruous but shows the benefit of home stallion support.

Galileo's stakes winners as broodmare sire last week were headed by US Navy Flag and Naval Intelligence but also encompassed Bahrain Trophy winner Wells Farhh Go, a son of Farhh, and Stanerra Stakes winner Cimeara, Jim Bolger's homebred daughter of Vocalised.

Farhh is by Pivotal, demonstrating that stallion's prowess as a grandsire in the top line of a pedigree, not just the maternal family.

Farhh also last week provided three-year-old novice stakes winners Bedouin's Story and Move Swiftly as well as Grand Prix de Paris third Dee Ex Bee. Another Pivotal stallion, Kyllachy, was responsible for Altyn Orda, an honourable runner-up to Mastercraftsman's dazzling Falmouth Stakes winner Alpha Centauri on Friday.

Cheveley Park Stud the vendor to follow

If we are to believe, as racecourse evidence seems to confirm more and more, that Pivotal mares are an improving ingredient in a pedigree then there is all the more reason to pay extra close attention to sales drafts from Cheveley Park Stud, which has stood Pivotal since his retirement way back in 1997 – before even Tony Blair became prime minister.

Indeed, Advertise was bred by the august operation and sold to Dermot Farrington for £60,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale last August.

Incidentally, Advertise beat fellow Cheveley Park-bred Konchek, a son of Lethal Force out of Lowther Stakes winner Soar (by Danzero), in the July Stakes. Konchek was bought by trainer Clive Cox for 85,000gns at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Cheveley Park Stud-bred pair Advertise (centre) and Konchek (right) finish one-two in the July StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Cheveley Park also bred and sold the three-year-old filly Hypnotic Force – by Lethal Force out of the Pivotal mare Hip, and a maiden winner at Roscommon for Ger Lyons on Monday. She was a 31,000gns purchase by Longways Stables at Book 2 in 2016, having originally been a 45,000gns acquisition by CDH Bloodstock at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.

Hip is a half-sister to Cheveley Park's Cheveley Park Stakes winner Hooray, the dam of three-year-old colt Restive Spirit, a seven-length maiden winner at Ripon on Monday for William Haggas. The son of Intello was originally a 200,000gns find by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock from Cheveley Park's draft at Book 1 in 2016.

Yet another of the farm's auction graduates who ran well last week was Gabr, a son of Intello and Nayef's 1,000 Guineas runner-up Spacious who ran second to Naval Intelligence in the Sir Henry Cecil Stakes. He was a 300,000gns Book 1 buy by Shadwell.

With catalogues for this season's yearling sales due to start dropping on doormats, the index of vendors might be the first page turned to by many to locate the Cheveley Park Stud drafts. Then there might be special attention paid to any lots out of Pivotal mares the nursery is putting on the market.

Kodiac stockpiling juvenile winners again

Tally-Ho Stud's source of precocity par excellence Kodiac notched his 20th individual juvenile winner of the season on July 7, when daughter Thriving scored at Beverley.

He accumulated that haul a week later than he had in 2017, when he eventually amassed a world record-busting 61 two-year-old winners from a single crop.

Best Solution (left): shows Kodiac is not just about juvenile speedCredit: Edward Whitaker

However, there are five more foals in Kodiac's 2016 crop than among the class of 2015, and as Thriving passed the post the sire had another 33 two-year-olds who had not won but had finished in the first four this year, as well as many well-bred unraced horses, set to push his tally ever higher.

Since Thriving won, Kodiac has recorded another four two-year-old winners in the past seven days – Double Kodiac at Maisons-Laffitte, Koduro at Carlisle, Marhaba Milliar at Ascot and Pink Iceburg at Yarmouth.

Kodiac also proved this week he is no one trick pony, with four-year-old son Best Solution landing the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes over 12 furlongs at Newmarket on Thursday.

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